The story revolves around Mushnik's Skid Row Florists and the three people who work there: Mr. Mushnik, the proprietor, and his two assistants, Seymour and Audrey. Seymour loves Audrey, but hasn't told her because he's a poor orphan with no future to offer her. Audrey dreams of meeting a nice man who'll love her for herself, but believes it will never happen. Due to her lack of self esteem, she's willing to date a rich but thoroughly unpleasant guy, Orin Scrivello, a motorcycle-riding dentist who calls himself "the leader of the plaque."

The shop is on its last legs: there's nothing in the till but cobwebs and dust. And then Seymour finds a strange and interesting plant, which he dubs the Audrey II, and persuades Mr Mushnik to display it in the shop window. Audrey II proves to be a customer magnet: people come to look at it, and always buy something before they leave. As its fame spreads, the shop receives larger and larger commissions, and Seymour starts receiving offers for national magazine interviews, lecture tours, even his own TV show.

But there's a catch: The plant thrives on human blood, and will die without it. At first, Seymour can keep it satisfied with his own blood, but as it grows larger it demands more than a person can give and live. But, you know, there's that repulsive boyfriend of Audrey's — surely nobody would miss him if he were to... disappear...

The film version subsequently resulted in an animated series called Little Shop, created by Frank Oz, which aired in 1991. It was set in a High School, with school-aged Seymour (who's no longer an orphan and has a hypochondriac mother, much like the original 1960 film) and Audrey (who was rewritten to be Mr. Mushnik's daughter who's obsessed with becoming a firefighter) dealing with the usual sort of high school comedy plots, with the dubious assistance of a toned-down plant which was merely carnivorous rather than a "humanitarian."

Ambiguous Gender: Audrey II—a plant who acts and sounds male (although casting has often gone both ways in numerous productions), but has a female name and gets referred to by feminine pronouns. (Admittedly, when Seymour states that "the Audrey II is not a healthy girl", the Audrey II hasn't revealed itself as sentient yet, so he's speaking pretty loosely.)

And I Must Scream: This is ostensibly the ultimate fate of Audrey II's victims — their faces become embedded in the centers of the plant's flowers. It's shown in the finale that the faces can only move and sing (or not, if you take their lines in "Don't Feed The Plants" to be an inner monologue), but appear to be alive and conscious as part of the plant. Since Audrey II and its descendants are nigh-indestructible by the end of the show, their chances of dying a true, merciful death at that point are next to nil.

And You Were There: After Audrey II starts growing, Seymour is approached by a series of people offering him fame and fortune (three in the musical number "The Meek Shall Inherit", and one more in the final scene); all four are played by a single actor. The same actor also plays the plant's first victim. (As well as various one-off characters with less metaphorical resonance.)

The Bad Guy Wins: The plant's growing fame results in a distribution deal that will put cuttings of Audrey II in homes all over the country. Seymour belatedly realizes that this is what Audrey II was after all along, and attempts to kill the plant before the distributor arrives to take the cuttings. He fails utterly, dying in the attempt, and the distribution goes ahead.

In the film, Seymour is a bumbling innocent who's so clumsy that he kills his victims by mistake, while in the musical he's seduced into deliberate murder by being promised fame, fortune and the girl he loves, Audrey. Additionally, while the film Seymour lived with his mother, the musical Seymour was abandoned at the Skid Row Home For Boys and taken in by Mushnik, who never liked him and treated him horribly.

Skid Row is now a terrible place that everyone desperately wishes they could leave.

Audrey, a happy-go-lucky ditz in the film, becomes the product of a broken home who's been in one bad relationship after another, suffers from low self-esteem, and is regularly abused by her sadistic boyfriend. She also dies in the end.

"Somewhere That's Green". A song with some of the same lyrics is first about dreaming of a bright future with Seymour, and then about begging Seymour to feed her to a man-eating plant.

As she is fed to the plant, the orchestra does a reprise of "Skid Row".

"Act 1 Finale" contains some lyrics and melody from "Prologue/Little Shop of Horrors", but in a more sinister tone and playing behind the maniacal laughter of a man-eating plant.

Averted with "Suppertime II". Sure, it's dark, but it's debatable whether it's actually any darker than the first "Suppertime".

"Sudden Changes", a brief solo Seymour has just before "Feed Me", is the same as the opening to "Somewhere That's Green". It's lighter than "Somewhere That's Green"'s reprise, but is darker than the initial "Somewhere That's Green". This makes it appropriate that it comes between the two.

"Bigger Than Hula Hoops" uses the same underscore as "Da Doo". "Da Doo" is a cheerful song about how Seymour found Audrey II, "Bigger Than Hula Hoops" is a violent fight between Seymour and Audrey II.

Deal with the Devil: Even referred to as such in the acting script — the precise wording is "pact with the devil." The introduction references the Faust legend as well.

Downer Ending: Audrey, Seymour, Mr. Musnik, and Orin all get eaten. (Okay, so Orin wasn't that big of a loss, but still.) Oh, and Audrey II succeeds in its plans for world conquest, and the distribution plan results in thousands of people getting sweet-talked by tiny Audrey II plants into feed them blood. The show ends with a now monstrously huge Audrey II leaping towards the audience. There's exactly one ray of hope in the ending; the line, "If we fight it, we've still got a chance."

Seymour complains about how he has to keep feeding Audrey II, and Audrey (number I) wonders why he's so upset about the cost of plant food.

More tragically, Audrey II persuades Seymour to commit murder by promising him Audrey's heart, and Seymour continues with the killings even after the cost has become obvious because he believes Audrey, along with the fame and the fortune, are Audrey II's gifts to him, and she would leave him if the fame and fortune did. "Somewhere That's Green" makes it clear to the audience that Audrey loved the poor sap long before he ever found the plant.

Empathic Environment: "Shang-a-lang, feel the sturm und drang in the air..." Besides that, the script calls for a "Wagnerian" sunset to heighten the over-the-top drama when Seymour feeds Audrey to the plant.

Foreshadowing: Orin tells Seymour "somebody'd make you a goddam[sic] partner to get their hands on this," referring to Audrey II. The song after this scene, Mushnik and Son, has Mushnik convince Seymour to be his son so he can keep Seymour and the profits from the plant in the shop. Mushnik offers to make Seymour a partner: "Mushnik and son/sounds great/three words with the ring of fate/so say you'll incorporate with me." We find out Mushnik's shop was renamed to Mushnik and Son when Audrey and Seymour field calls in Call Back in the Morning - "Mushnik and Son, Skid Row's Favorite Florists, can you hold?"

Friendship Moment: Chiffon, Ronette, and Crystal get two with Audrey. In the first, they encourage her to dump Orin and find a man that's worth her time — namely, Seymour. In the second, Audrey isn't present, but when the girls meet Orin for the first time and realize he's the scumbag that's been abusing Audrey, they tell him to get lost and leave Audrey alone. ...And try to beat the crap out of him while they're at it! (It doesn't work, but it's the thought that counts.)

Gender-Blender Name: Audrey II has a feminine name but is traditionally played by a male actor (traditionally a baritone or bass) and has a masculine personality. (Being a plant, and probably an alien, it's anybody's guess what gender Audrey II really is - if any.)

The Ghost: Mrs. Shiva, who was an onscreen character in the original film.

"He took me out of the Skid Row Home for Boys when I was just a little tyke. Gave me a warm place to sleep, under the counter. Nice things to eat like meatloaf and water. Floors to sweep and toilets to clean and every other Sunday off!"

Historical-Domain Character: Mrs. Luce (in real life, Clare Booth Luce) really was the wife of the editor of Life Magazine. She was also a playwright, journalist, socialite, ambassador and congresswoman.

Hoist by His Own Petard: Seymour, eaten by his own giant plant, and Orin, who asphyxiates when the laughing gas mask gets stuck. In the stage show, Mushnik plays with this- he worries about money to the point of adopting Seymour just to keep the plant, and Seymour tells him he put the day's earnings in the plant during Suppertime, but considering A) how the shop had been doing before Audrey II, and B) the fact that it's apparently over a thousand dollars, his concern is more or less justified. Audrey is the only victim who doesn't really have a Karmic Death.

Audrey's death was karmic - for Seymour instead of for her.

Mushnik has an oddly meta example of this. In the original b-movie, he tricked a would-be robber into getting eaten by the plant by telling him the shop's money was inside it. The musical lifted the situation with practically the same dialogue, but used it to kill off Mushnik.

Hope Spot: There are quite a few moments when it looks as if Seymour's going to kill the plant, but he never does.

Humans Are Bastards: After we're treated to a seemingly nice and lovable guy getting seduced into repeat murder, the ending song tells us that the plants are doing the same thing all across America, offering "unsuspecting jerks" their wildest dreams in exchange for blood. The message of "Don't Feed The Plants" is obvious—with the right motivation, anyone could kill people to feed a plant. Including you.

Idiot Ball: After killing Orin, Seymour indulges in what has to rank among the worst murder coverups in the history of fiction. He leaves his baseball cap and his bag at the scene of the crime (the bag, by the way, has the name of the shop on it), stuffs Orin's uniform in the trash can outside the shop, and doesn't even bother to clean up the blood he spilled on the shop floor. When questioned about it, he says, "I spilled some Hawaiian Punch and it stained."

Insecure Love Interest: This is why Audrey doesn't consider leaving the abusive "semi-sadist" Orin for her AdorkableNice Guy coworker Seymour; she likes Seymour, but she considers herself too dirty and worthless to be with him.

For his part, Seymour is convinced that he's not good enough for Audrey. When he finally realizes that she loves him back, he assumes that it's because he now has money and believes that he'll lose her if he loses his income from the plant. Tragedy ensues.

"Skid Row", "Grow For Me", and "Mushnik and Son" also qualify—and, to a lesser degree, "Now (It's Just The Gas)" and "The Meek Shall Inherit".

I Wished You Were Dead: Audrey secretly wished Orin would disappear, and when he actually does, she blames herself, worrying that it's her fault if he "met with foul play". (Although she doesn't know it, she is the reason Seymour killed him.)

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mr. Mushinik, who cares somewhat for Seymour (though more for money) and for Audrey, who he constantly advises to drop her abusive boyfriend.

Money Song: Since money is a huge part of the plot, it's inevitable that some songs would revolve, at least partially, around it. Probably the best example is Mushnik's intro to "Ya Never Know".

Mood Whiplash: Aplenty. The show blurs the line between comedy and horror to a remarkable degree.

Seymour agonising after killing Mushnik is interrupted almost immediately by the arrival of Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon, who are ecstatic after seeing Seymour on the news.

Moral Event Horizon: An In-Universe example; Seymour doesn't necessarily have any ill will towards Orin Scrivello until he watches Orin slap Audrey in the face. Cue to Seymour selecting Orin as his first victim.

Murder by Inaction: Seymour tries to shoot Orin the Depraved Dentist, but can't bring himself to. Moments later, Orin gets himself high inside a mask full of gas, but finds he can't get it off and begs Seymour to help him get it off (while he laughs maniacally.) Seymour just stands by and watches Orin suffocate.

Murder the Hypotenuse: While Seymour is compelled to do away with Orin because of how terribly he treats Audrey, reasoning that she'd be better off without him and his abuse, Mushnik jumps to the conclusion that Seymour killed Orin so he could move in on Audrey.

Audrey: I couldn't sleep. I took a Sominex, but voices in my head kept saying "Go to Seymour, talk to Seymour." I drank some tea, but gee, the feeling wasn't gone. Seymour, sweetheart. Tell me, darling. What's been going on?

Deconstructed, as Seymour refuses to stop feeding the plant because he fears Audrey would stop caring about him if he was broke again which leads to their deaths.

Our Founder: A picture of Mr. Mushnik with the caption "Our Founder" appears in the shop in the scene following "The Meek Shall Inherit."

Paparazzi: Mrs. Luce wants a photo of Seymour with the plant for the cover of Life Magazine.

Pet the Dog: Mushnik would come off as a complete Jerk Ass if he didn't show concern for Audrey and urge her to break up with Orin.

Phrase Catcher: The fact that Audrey II is a "strange and interesting plant" is repeated by no fewer than five characters in the scene where Seymour puts it in Mushnik's display window. Strange and interesting indeed.

Right before "Suddenly Seymour" she implies, but doesn't outright state, that she moonlit as a stripper when the flower shop was doing poorly, and met Scrivello while working that job. Still, that doesn't make her a Seemingly Wholesome '50s Girl by itself.

Slut-Shaming: Played with in regards to Audrey, who is heavily implied to have worked as a stripper to make ends meet back when the shop wasn't doing very well. Audrey seems to slut-shame herself, citing her old job as a reason she doesn't "deserve" a good life or a good boyfriend, which fits with the fact that she has no self-esteem. She also met Orin at this job, and some of his dialogue (including outright referring to Audrey as a slut) implies that he does this to her as well, possibly using it to "justify" his abuse of her. Seymour, on the other hand, averts it, which makes sense seeing as how he views Audrey as God's gift to humanity. When she tells him about her old job, he clearly couldn't care less, outright saying that what Audrey did to pay the bills doesn't make her a bad person by any stretch.

Snowball Lie: Thanks to Seymour not telling anyone his "gardening secret" for Audrey Jr./Audrey II: human blood. Must be fresh.

Somewhere Song: "Somewhere That's Green" is a whole song of Audrey daydreaming about her idea of a perfect life — living with Seymour in a suburb.

They Call Me Mr Tibbs: Orin insists that Audrey call him "Doctor" and use the term "D.D.S." when referring to him. It's implied that he's beaten her for neglecting to do so ("You gotta train 'em, eh, stud?").

Tragic Dropout: The Urchins, Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronnette, are stated to have stopped going to school after fifth grade, and are thus trapped on Skid Row.

"Better ourselves? Mister, when you're from Skid Row, there ain't no such thing."

Too Dumb to Live: When Mushnik discovers Seymour killed Orin, Seymour tells Mushnik that he put the day's profits inside the plant for safekeeping and tells him to climb inside of it and get it. He does so and gets eaten. And later, when Seymour discovers Audrey II's true intentions for world domination, he climbs inside its mouth with a machete to try and kill it from the inside... and gets eaten.

Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Audrey, the most goodhearted person the show, ultimately gets eaten, even asking Seymour to feed her to the plant, since she was going to die anyway, and she thought if the plant could continue to live, Seymour could keep living happily off its money.

We Named the Monkey "Jack": Seymour names the plant after Audrey. It's meant to be in a nice way, as he first believes the plant is a previously undiscovered (terrestrial) breed.

What You Are in the Dark: Seymour fails this in a big way. And "The Meek Shall Inherit" stresses this, when he sings that "Even though I'll be poor and unemployed / The vegetable must be destroyed", but then changes his mind when he thinks about Audrey.

Yiddish as a Second Language: The plant knows some Yiddish, like "Come on Seymour, don't be a putz". (He even says "Feh!") He probably learned the Yiddish from the likely-Jewish Mr. Mushnik, who uses "mensch" and "mishegas". The lyricist/composer team, Ashman and Menken, also did many Disney movies, and the same influence is seen there (Phil in Hercules, etc.).

Specific productions have added examples of:

Deliberately Monochrome: The 2016 Australian production starts out with all sets, costumes, and props (and even Audrey's hair) in black-and-white — with the exception of Audrey II. As Seymour's life improves (and Audrey II's influence grows), more color appears, until it ends in full color.

Drag Queen: The Berksire Theatre Group's production reinvents Audrey II as a drag queen (voiced by an offstage actress) instead of a puppet, adding a new, seductive layer to its relationship with Seymour.

Erotic Dream: In the 2009 UK tour, the plant sleeps at one point and says "Yeah, baby. Make my stems all woody."

Grief Song: In the German version, Seymour responds to Audrey's death with a Dark Reprise of "Suddenly Seymour".

Major Injury Underreaction: Subverted after Audrey has been attacked by the plant - some productions have her come out of the plant's mouth smiling and feeling fine, only to collapse moments later as she begins to die.

Movie Bonus Song: Some plays, for example the 2016 UK Tour, during the bows, Audrey II sings the song from the movie, 'Mean Green Mother from Outer Space'. Some school plays also add it to the battle near the end with Seymour.

Significant Double Casting: In the 2016 Australian production, there isn't a separate voice actor for Audrey II, which instead is voiced by the actors of the characters it's eaten. This means that it speaks with the Voice of the Legion toward the end — and that in all the early arguments with Seymour, when Audrey II hasn't had a taste of anyone else yet, the actor playing Seymour is speaking and singing both sides of the argument.

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